The Butterfly Effect
by MrsWhitlock143
Summary: Lincoln comes home to an unlocked apartment and a guilty-looking teenage!Michael after a long day at work. When he learns what happened, he is none too pleased with his little brother. Warning: spanking.
1. Chapter 1

The door being left unlocked is what unnerved Lincoln the most as he got to his apartment. He thought back to that morning, clearly remembering that he had locked it before he left. He inspected the door, rattling the knob a bit -it didn't seem like there had been any forced entry. Shaking his head, confused and concerned, Lincoln pushed his way into the apartment. He stood in the doorway, making a general assessment of his possessions; everything seemed to be right where he had left them. He inched in a bit more.

"Michael? Michael, are you here?" He called out into the too-still flat. _He better be._

"Kitchen." Lincoln heard a small voice respond. Immediately, Lincoln shut the door, bolted it, and made his way to the kitchen quickly. He stopped just inside of it, shocked at the sight before him. He shook off his surprise as fast as he could and practically ran over to his little brother, crouched in the corner by the counter.

"Michael! Michael, what's wrong? What happened?" He lifted his brother's chin, trying to look at his face. The teenager refused to meet his eyes. "Michael, are you hurt? What are you doing?"

"I'm not hurt, Linc." Michael's soft voice wavered slightly as he curled in on himself further. He didn't offer any more explanations, which infuriated his older brother. Lincoln grabbed Michael and roughly hauled him off the floor to a standing position.

"I am only going to ask you one more time… What the hell happened? Why are you acting like this?"

Michael sniffled quietly and stared at the floor. "I'm sorry." He whispered dejectedly. Lincoln's anger began fading and worry took its place once more.

"What are you sorry for, Michael?"

Michael gestured weakly towards the living room. "Door. I left the door unlocked when I left."

Lincoln gave his brother a hard look, disappointed to hear that. _No wonder,_ he thought. _Michael must have gone out after me._

"How could you have left the door open if you were home today, Michael?" Lincoln inquired pointedly, though he wondered if his brother would even sense the sarcasm. The kid looked downright miserable enough as it was.

"I went out a little bit after you left and I forgot to lock the door. I know I wasn't supposed to do it -either one -but…" Michael shrugged.

"You're right, kid. You weren't supposed to go out, and you know better than to leave the door unlocked when you do," Lincoln began, "and I'm disappointed in you for that."

"Are you gonna punish me?" Michael interrupted his brother, finally turning his big doe eyes on him. Lincoln hesitated.

"Yes, I am." He noticed Michael's slight pout and hunch of his shoulders, but he didn't falter. "However. First, I need to ask you a very important question and I need you to answer me honestly. Okay?" He waited for the boy to nod before he continued. "Did something happen here while I was gone? Or, you know, while you were gone?"

The longer Michael took to respond, the more Lincoln dreaded the answer. After a long time of silence, Lincoln prompted his brother. "Mike?"

Michael took a shuddering breath. "When I got back, Lisa was here. Like, in here. Inside the apartment. She had LJ with her, but she was cursing so much she'd put a sailor to shame." He let out a mirthless chuckle at that. "She was upset. She thought you were the one who'd left the apartment unlocked. Then, when she saw me without you, she got even more upset."

Lincoln swallowed hard and blindly reached behind him and grabbed one of the chairs from the table. He sat down heavily in it, looking up at his brother after a moment. "What did she, uh, what did she say?"

"First, she asked me where you were. I told her you were working, but I'm not sure if she believed me. She kept asking me why I was out alone and if you knew where I was." Michael looked up guiltily. "Um, I wasn't the most polite when I replied to that, but the final answer was that you didn't know where I was, so she just ignored everything I'd said before that. She ran out before I could explain anything else, mumbling about how unfit you were to be a parent and that there was no way she was trusting you with LJ alone…"

A long, tense moment passed before either brother spoke again. Lincoln had his head buried in his hands as Michael guiltily looked on. The sixteen-year-old ran a hand through his hair nervously, as he waited for his brother to say something, anything; but to no avail. Lincoln didn't say a word.

After waiting for another few minutes, Michael spoke up again. "If you call her, and talk things out with her, then I'm sure she'll change her mind…"

"No, Michael!" Lincoln snapped suddenly, rising from his seat and making the boy flinch. "She won't change her mind. She was just looking for a reason to keep me away from my son and it looks like she fucking found one! Good job, Michael; honestly, you did great today." He spat, ignoring the wounded look on his brother's face.

"Lincoln, I'm so sorry… Please, I know we can fix this -"

"No, no, no. Stop right there. You've done enough, Michael." Lincoln cut his brother off. "I'll fix this myself. After I deal with you." He added menacingly as an afterthought.

Michael gulped, backing away quickly until his back hit the fridge. "Just take it easy, Linc… Please, I'm really sorry -"

"Come here!" Lincoln bellowed, not trying to contain himself. The kid was visibly trembling, but Lincoln couldn't care less this time. _Good, let him be scared._ "I am not going to say it again, Michael. Get. Over. Here."

Very slowly, and with tears streaming freely down his cheeks, Michael made his way back to where his brother was standing.

"Right here." Lincoln pointed at a spot in front of him and waited for his younger brother to get to it. "Look at me, Michael." The boy shook his head vehemently, avoiding his brother's hard gaze at all costs. Lincoln closed his eyes and counted to ten in his head, attempting to calm himself down before he said -or did -something he would regret. "Mike."

"I'm sorry…" Michael muttered again. He tensed when Lincoln touched his arm, relieved when that's all that happened for a moment. Next, he felt his chin being tipped up until his hazel eyes met his older brother's identical ones. "Linc…"

"Listen to me, Michael." Lincoln started, pausing a moment to collect his thoughts and carefully work out what he was going to say. "I'm not happy with you right now. Not at all. I'm very disappointed that you disobeyed me when I told you to stay home, and I'm not pleased that you left the door unlocked when you left either.

"What happened with Lisa… is not entirely your fault. Of course, if you would have been here, there wouldn't have been much of a problem; but you couldn't have known that she was going to drop by. I'll resolve that issue, don't worry. She'll never be able to take LJ away, you got it? Don't worry about that.

"However, I thought that I could trust you, Mike. I really did. But today just proves that maybe Lisa is right about leaving you on your own while I go to work."

"Lincoln, I know I messed up but -" Michael began frantically, only to be shushed.

"Don't interrupt me. I don't want to hear any excuses. Now, you'll be coming with me everywhere -including work -until school starts or you prove yourself to be trustworthy once more; whichever comes first. Understood?" Michael nodded sadly, hating the declaration but knowing that it was fair. Lincoln sighed. "I'm afraid that's not where your punishment stops, kiddo.

"Leaving the apartment without letting me know was incredibly wrong of you to do. There I was at work, safe in the knowledge that you were at home and out of harm's way, when in reality you were God-knows-where, and the apartment was unlocked and available to whoever wanted some free stuff. We're both incredibly lucky that nothing like that happened.

"I know you're not gonna like what I say next, but it has to be done, Mike. You're gonna get a spanking -"

"Lincoln, no!"

" -in addition to five licks of the belt."

Michael's expression shifted into a horrified one at his brother's proclamation, though several different emotions were passing through him at that moment. Anger, hurt, indignation, guilt -they were all bombarding him at once, and he wasn't sure which one to act upon. Unconsciously, he chose indignation.

"Lincoln, you can't do that -I'm too old!" Michael protested, but Lincoln merely shook his head.

"Don't try playing that card on me, boy. I'll tell you when you're too old."

"But, Lincoln…" Michael drew out the name, turning to whining this time. Before he could get much out, though, Lincoln put a hand over his mouth.

"This is not up for discussion, young man. You've earned the punishment, and you're gonna take it whether you like it or not. Come here, let's get this over with."

Michael's eyes widened so much they looked like they were going to pop right out of his head. "Now?!"

"Yes, now." Michael shook his head and Lincoln hardened his gaze. "Don't you dare say no to me. This is happening right now, so better just accept it and get it over with. Now, come on." Lincoln took a seat on the chair he'd vacated earlier, perching himself on the edge of it. He made sure it was far enough from the table that Michael couldn't hurt himself, and then he patted his lap, looking at his brother expectantly. "I'm waiting."

After another moment of hemming and hawing, Michael finally submitted himself to his fate. With a frustrated noise, he started lowering himself down onto Lincoln's lap when he was stopped.

"Nuh uh, Michael. You know better than that. Pants down."

Michael groaned. "Linc, please. Just this once…" Lincoln merely shook his head at the request, sending Michael into a frenzy. The boy suddenly decided the best course of action to take, was to run.

However, before he could get farther than five steps, Lincoln grabbed Michael around the waist and yanked him back to his side. "That just bought you some extra smacks." was all he said before using one hand to hold onto Michael, the other hand deftly unbuttoning and unzipping his brother's jeans. In a single movement, Lincoln had the boy's pants down around his ankles and was reaching to pull down his boxers, when a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"Please don't, Linc. Not yet, at least. Please." Michael begged, wanting to protect as much of his dignity as he possibly could in such an embarrassing situation. Lincoln watched him for a minute, contemplating, before giving in to the request. He pulled his hand free from Michael's grasp and loosened the tight hold he had on him.

"Bend over." He commanded gruffly, relieved when his little brother obeyed him and bent over his lap. As soon as Michael was settled, Lincoln pulled down the his boxers, making the lad duck his head further from humiliation.

Lincoln wrapped an arm tightly around Michael's waist and pushed the boy's shirt up a little to get a better look at his target, not wanting to accidently bruise the kid. He took a deep breath, trying to make sure his voice didn't waver when he next spoke.

"Do you understand why I'm going to spank you, Michael?" When they boy simply nodded and made a small sound of confirmation, Lincoln continued. "Tell me then."

Michael hated this part of the spanking more than the actual spanking -or so he always thought, until the smacking actually started. He apparently took too long to answer because he felt Lincoln shake him a little. "I left the apartment when I wasn't supposed to and left it unlocked, which caused problems for you and Lisa -"

"Wrong." Lincoln interrupted. "Try again, without that last part."

"But I -"

"Boy, I will give you a pre-spanking if you keep on."

"But, Lincoln, it's true. I did cause the problem. You pretty much said so yourself a few minutes ago." Michael whined, feeling entirely culpable for the situation. It would be his fault if Lisa never let Lincoln see LJ again.

"Michael." Lincoln sighed, rubbing the boy's back soothingly, trying to get him to relax. "First of all, I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have implied that it was your fault in the first place, although I do recall telling you afterwards that it wasn't. Second of all, let it be clear to you that I'm punishing you for sneaking out of the apartment and lying -"

"I never lied to you!"

"Not telling me something is considered lying to me, Mike. And let's be honest, if the whole thing with Lisa hadn't come up, you wouldn't have told me that you left the apartment. Am I right?" Michael bit his lip and reluctantly nodded. "Exactly. That's what this is for. The five from the belt are going to cover being irresponsible and leaving the door unlocked. Clear?"

"Crystal, sir." Michael murmured, knowing he sounded sarcastic but not really meaning to. If Lincoln noticed his little brother's response, he chose to ignore it because he continued right on through.

"Brace yourself, kiddo. We're getting started." Lincoln warned, raising his hand high.


	2. Chapter 2

Michael screwed his eyes shut when Lincoln raised his hand, barely containing a yelp when the first smack was finally administered. The swats that followed seemed to grow in intensity, each one inflicting more pain than the last. They were landing at a rapid pace, almost as if Lincoln was trying to put out a fire in Michael's backside -and yet, all he did was _create_ one.

At first, Michael tried his best to remain stoic and take his punishment like a man. He fought hard to contain his whimpers, yelps, or any sounds of protest; not because Lincoln would think less of him, but because Michael would think less of himself. Sixteen years old and he couldn't even take a spanking from his brother? It didn't seem right to Michael.

However, soon he learned that taking the punishment quietly was going to be much harder than he'd originally anticipated. Michael was generally well-behaved and could keep away from situations that would put him in this position -so eventually, he would forget what it actually felt like to be spanked. He always thought, "Next time, I won't cry."

He always failed.

Another couple of minutes went by and Michael could no longer contain himself. "Linc!" He screeched, his voice breaking as a heavy swat landed.

"What, Michael?" Lincoln responded, against his better judgment. He continued raining down hefty smacks to his little brother's squirming backside as he waited for his brother's complaints. He didn't have to wait long before Michael began complaining and whining for him to stop.

"Please, Linc! Stop, it hurts. C'mon, please!" Michael begged, pride and dignity gone to hell. He was sure his ass was flaming by this point but Lincoln didn't seem like he was going to be stopping any time soon. "I've learned my lesson, Linc, I promise!"

"And what lesson is that, Mike?" Lincoln questioned. Even though they had just had that conversation minutes ago, he wanted to be absolutely sure his brother was aware of what he was being punished for. Better safe than sorry, he thought.

"I -I need to listen to you and not lie to you - OW -and not leave the door un-unlocked w-when I leave…" The teen sniffled, his legs kicking as if they had a mind of their own. Lincoln nodded though he knew his brother couldn't see him.

"Good, you are learning then. I don't wanna have a repeat of this lesson, Mike." He began, interrupted by Michael's incessant squalling.

"We won't! No repeats!"

"Because if we do, what I'm doing to you now will seem like love taps!" Lincoln warned seriously, hoping the threat alone will be enough for his brother. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Michael disobeyed or lied to him again. He also knew it would probably be a while before that happened, though. However, he was positive that Michael would never leave the door unlocked again, though whether that was because of the spanking or because he finally realized the bigger repercussions of doing that, Lincoln wasn't sure.

"Linc, I'm s-s-sorry… Please, big brother…" Michael cried, desperate to get up from Lincoln's lap. He was shocked, though, when the blows ceased and he was ordered to stand up. He quickly did so, yanking up his underwear immediately.

"Go to the closet and get the belt, Mike." Lincoln ordered, noticing by the look on his brother's face that the kid had forgotten all about the promised strapping.

"But… Linc, please, not the belt! Please, please, please, it's not necessary, please!" Michael implored, crying a little harder when the only response his pleading got was a firm shake of the head. "Linc…"

"I promised you five licks of the belt, and you know I don't break a promise." Lincoln retorted, forcing himself not to give in to the tragic look on his brother's face. "Go bring me a belt. I'm not gonna say it again, Michael." He added when the boy still didn't move.

With one last pitiful glance in his older brother's direction, Michael trudged towards the bedroom like a man headed to the gallows. His jeans had been kicked off sometime during the whole ordeal, making Michael's journey to the closet free of any hindrances, though he tried to take as much time as he could.

Lincoln shook his head as he watched his brother move as slowly as he dared towards the bedroom. No matter how old the kid was, a spanking always reduced him to nothing especially if there was a belt involved. A slipper, a spoon, a brush -they had nothing on the belt, as far as Michael was concerned. Lincoln wasn't quite sure why, and though he hated to use it, he knew the belt would keep Michael in line much longer than anything else would.

Lincoln checked his watch, deciding to give Michael another minute to return before going in after him.

Michael approached the closet door slowly, knowing full well that he was definitely pushing his time limit but not caring all that much. He gently pried the door open, turning to face Lincoln's half of the small closet. He picked up two different belts, scrutinizing them, making sure he picked the one that would bring him the less pain.

The thicker one was likely to cover more area at once, whereas the thin one would impact only the specific area it hit. On the other hand, the thinner belt was likely to cause a longer-lasting sting than the thicker belt would… Michael sighed in frustration, knowing he needed to come to a conclusion fast. He decidedly put back the thinner of the two belts, and headed back to Lincoln with his choice.

Lincoln was getting up to find Michael just as the kid returned to him, belt in hand. He nodded at his brother's choice, assuming that's the belt he was likely to choose -it did smart less on the spot, but in the long run, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Lincoln took the piece of leather from his little brother, eyeing him for a moment as he pondered whether the kid should lie back over his knee or bend over across the table. He took in the piteous state his brother was in -hair messed up, tear stains on his cheeks, rumpled clothing -and decided it was best to keep him close.

"Bend back over my knee, Mike." He commanded softly, a bit surprised when his brother started hemming and hawing.

"Can't I just bend over the table, or a chair?" Michael asked, dreading taking the dive over Lincoln's lap for a second time. It was easier for him to bend over a table for punishment than to bend over his brother's knee. At least at a table, he was standing up and he had more control over himself. When he was over Lincoln's lap, he was completely at his brother's mercy, locked tight, and Michael hated it.

Lincoln shook his head, understanding why his brother might prefer another option, but Linc was relentless. "No. Bend over. Now." When Michael still didn't move, Lincoln sighed tiredly. "C'mon, Mike. Let's just get this over with. As of now, it's only five licks; however, if you keep trying me, I'll make it ten and you'll go over my knee anyways. How does that sound? You want that?" He asked rhetorically, receiving a vehement head shake in the negative. "Then come here."

Michael ducked his head, sniffling as he bent back over his brother's knees. He settled himself in as comfortably as possible, trying his best to focus his mind on something other than the situation at hand -he figured out that was harder to do when he's already got a throbbing ass than not.

He flinched slightly when he felt Lincoln resting the belt on his backside, relieved beyond belief when his boxers weren't yanked back down. The strip of leather disappeared, snapping down on Michael's rear just seconds later.

"Ow!" He squeaked, barely having any time to recover before the second stripe of the belt landed. "Linc!"

"Three more, buddy." Lincoln answered gently, snapping down the belt thrice more in quick succession, making sure to aim the last two at the boy's sensitive undercurve.

Michael howled in response, finally lying limp over his brother's knees just as the punishment ceased. His tears began flowing freely again as the fire in his backside was rekindled, the burning sensation seemingly engraving itself into Michael permanently. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he'd be completely healed in - at most -two days, but he couldn't care less at the moment.

He heard the clink of metal as the belt was dropped to the floor before he felt himself being lifted by strong arms. Before he knew it, Michael was no longer lying over his brother's lap -instead he was sitting on it, being hugged closely. Michael wrapped his arms tightly around Lincoln's torso, burying his face in his chest as he cried.

Lincoln rubbed his brother's back soothingly as he hugged him, waiting for Michael to finish crying out his discomfort. He hated punishing his little brother, but he knew that sometimes it was necessary. As Michael's sobs began to die down, a thought crossed Lincoln's mind. He pulled Michael back a little, far enough so that he could look him in the eyes.

"Mike, where did you go?"

"What?" Michael questioned, wiping away the last of his tears. His brother's abrupt query left him baffled for a moment before he realized what he was talking about. "Oh, you mean when I -"

"When you left, yeah. Where the hell did you even go?"

Michael fidgeted slightly, avoiding his brother's gaze as he mumbled, "A friend's house."

Lincoln stared back at him. "A friend's house? That couldn't wait for another time? You had to wait until I went to work to sneak out to a friend's house, Michael?" Lincoln barked, becoming upset once more. Michael, for fear of being turned back over his brother's knee, answered quickly.

"He had this game that his cousin lent him, and I really wanted to try it out..."

Lincoln sighed. "So why didn't you just ask me if you could go, Mike?"

Michael wriggled around on his brother's lap, feeling uncomfortable and apprehensive. He figured he should get as far away as possible, lest Lincoln fall back into spanking mode. Michael knew he wouldn't be able to get very far, though.

"I did ask, once. You said no." He explained, his voice barely above a whisper. Lincoln quirked an eyebrow.

"Are we talking about that Jeffrey kid I told you to stay away from?" Michael nodded, and Lincoln shook his head disbelievingly. "So, I tell you this kid is a bad influence, nothing but trouble, and you keep him as a friend? Fine. Whatever, man. As long as he doesn't drag you into any trouble. But what I'm not okay with is you going behind my back like that. I told you no, Michael, and I meant it." He scoffed. "Now I get why you waited for me to leave before you snuck out."

Michael cringed at the look he was getting. His voice wavered as he tried to calm his brother down some. "I'm really, truly sorry, Linc. I know I shouldn't have gone after you told me I couldn't, but I couldn't resist!"

"That isn't a good reason, Michael. It's a petty excuse." Lincoln deadpanned. "How about you give me a good reason to not flip you face-down over my knee again?"

Michael was very close to panicking. He wracked his brain, hoping to conjure up a valid reason but could come up with nothing. Although he hated it, his eyes filled with tears. "I don't have a good reason. Please, Linc, I'm really sorry. Can't we just let it go this time? You already punished me for lying and disobeying you… I'll steer clear of Jeff, I'll never tell another lie… Linc?"

Lincoln thought hard about what his next course of action should be. He was tempted to give the kid a good, hard spanking, but he couldn't bring himself to actually deliver a second one. He heave a heavy sigh. "Fine, I won't do it this time." He decided, noticing how Michael practically deflated in pure relief. "But you are grounded." Michael shrugged, thinking nothing of the proclamation. A grounding was never much of a deterrent for him, but he realized too late that he shouldn't clue Lincoln in on that.

"Ow, hey!" He yelped when Lincoln smacked his arm, hard. His brother glared at him.

"You don't care that I grounded you? Is that what that shrug meant?" Lincoln barked furiously.

"No, no, no! I'm sorry -"

"You know, Mike, I'm hearing that a lot from you lately -"

"I didn't mean it like that! Of course I care. I didn't mean it that way." Michael tried to assuage his older brother, fighting down the nerves. Lincoln relented, for once.

"'til summer's over. You hear me? You're on total lockdown mode until school starts again."

Michael frowned. "I thought you said I'd be free once you knew you could trust me again, even if that happened before school started."

"I changed my mind, in light of these new revelations." Lincoln smirked. "You are now completely grounded. Keep pushing it and you'll stay grounded for the next school year too." Michael groaned.

"Bully. I bet you enjoy this." Lincoln's eyebrows skyrocketed.

"Boy, consider yourself lucky I don't have the heart to give you another beating. Quit smart-mouthing me."

Michael smiled, deciding he really should stop trying his luck, and hugged Lincoln once more. "Yes, sir." He responded coyly. Lincoln shook his head, chuckling lightly.

"You're a handful, Mike, you know that?" Michael nodded which made Lincoln laugh harder. "And yet I wouldn't trade you for the world." He kissed the top of Michael's head before shoving his little brother off of him. "Put your pants back on." He commanded as he stood up and put the chair where it belonged.

"We going somewhere?" Michael inquired, doing as he's told begrudgingly. Lincoln grabs his keys and turns to face the kid briefly.

"You're going to Veronica's house while I go talk to Lisa. And you are not to leave V's house, am I clear?" Michael nodded, following Lincoln out the door, rolling his eyes as his brother began a full-blown lecture.

"…behave yourself… give her trouble, I'll beat you ass…You listening to me?"

Michael nodded, tuning in to Lincoln's speech every now and then. Lincoln must have gotten the hint and stopped talking, instead wrapping an arm around Michael's shoulders.

"I love you, Linc." Michael murmured, falling asleep even as he walked. Lincoln smiled.

"Yeah, I love you too, kiddo."


End file.
